Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-10-27

you well?' asked the Snowman.
"'No, sir 1 can't play well enough,
said I.
"Oh, yes you can; I only want you
to fill up the vacuum during the per-
formance.'
"That word paralyzed both dad and
line. We hadn't heard OF vacuum in
that part of the country before. We
was stunned for minute, but finally
] gasped:
:" 'Fill up the vacuum! You can
get somebody else to fill up your vac
uum; don't feel like shoveling any
thing
"That happened in Norwalk, o.,
and that word stuck to me till we left
he town.
"'Well. Dan,' the hoys used to say,
have you got that vacuum filled
yet? p"
When sixteen years old Dan used
to black up and sing ""Jim Crow"
Such a Gettin Upstairs" and Rae
coon on Rail-" and at eighteen he
was accomplished enough to go on
the road with circus. His first busi-
ness was to perform, with the assist
ance of another man, the "tail-board
act" 1t was Sam Stickneys circus
that he embarked with. A circus in
those days would travel whole sea-
son in one State. At twenty-five Dan
learned the banjo, and then travelled
with Angevine's circus till he reached
New York. That was in 1S42. He
made his debut as banjoist in the
New York and Philadelphia theaters,
and was we'll received.
But banjo-picking got stale, and he
| began to introduce negro singing and
! burnt cork. 1t was soon after that
when he organized the first burnt-cork
minstrel troupe in America. There
were four members, namely: Frank
Bowers, bones; Billy Whitlock, banjo;
Dick Pelham, tambourine, and Dan
Emmett, violin. Dan tells an inter-
esting story of their first performance:
We took our instruments and went
down to Howe's amphitheatre, in
the Bowery, where Tryon's circus was
playing to give old man Howe
charivari.' We struck up 'Old Dan
Tucker to make as big noise as pos
sible, not expecting any agreeable
|
novelty or the music. No sooner had
we got done than old Howe pulled his
plug hat down over his left eye dan
here gave laughable imitation OF the
rakish way Howe wore his hat), and
abserved:
"Boys, if you only knew it, you've
got id good thing of it. Is.
"Well, we then went over to the
North American Hotel and sung and
played for the circus people. Pelham
had benefit rendered him at the
Chatham Street Theatre. We sung
and played there, and the people
went crazy over our negro minstrelsy,
The result was that Tryon engage us
for Saturday nights and putus on the
bills. The crowds couldn't get within
a great hit, but Tryon never paid rs a
cent.
FOR THE GAMBLERS.
"Then we went down tothc Cornu-
copia Concert Saloon, by the Park
Theatre. and played and sung for the
gamblers. Johnny Diamond, who
was then the greatest dancer in the
country, joined us. We passed
around the hat, and made $50 or $40 a
night. Welsh's circus was running
next door, and we injured his busi-
ness SO that he gave us weeks en-
gagement. We made 5000 that week
Thus it was the first minstrel COM
pany in America started. Leaving
New York, we played in Boston four
weeks with great success and then
went to England and busted. In
Liverpool the people discovered we
were white men blackened up, and
said we were Lancashire fellows they
were mad because we We're not genu-
inc darkies. Then we tried it in
Manchester and London, bat broke
up, and each fellow came home on
his own hook.
In '55 and '56 | ran the first
minstrel show in Chicago in Warmers
Hall, 1O4 Randolph street. 1t was
known as Emmett's varieties.
"rhere was another funny thing
thing that happened while l was
travelling with Miller's circus in Mis-
souri,. l was the leader OF the band.
One fiddle, one trombone, one bugle
and one bass drum. was the fiddler,
and the fiddler was generally the big
gest man in the show in them days.
Nobody got much notice but the fid-
dler. Well, after the performance i'll
| a town, the name of which forget,
we were sitting in the hotel porch. A
negro wench who would weigh about
300 and as black as midnight came up
to Miller, shining and greasy with
animation and excitement.
"Whar's dat little man in de calico
shirt dat play de fiddle?" she yelled.
Miller said was sitting there with
the rest.
"Whar is he? Use gwine to keep
him. Whar is he? He's mine. Tse
gwine to hab him. | love dat chile
an I'se gwine to keep him!"
"That is great joke on me. The
wench was mashe on me and never
heard the last of it.
Uncle Dan is quaint and original
character, not without talent, though
his show days are over; not without
pride, though his earthly possessions
are small. He is inclined to be
industrious and to live honestly.
He would have been an excellent
companion and partner OF Artemus
Ward in the show business. Ward
was his friend, and he still owns
photograph OF the great humorist
which the later gave him with his own
hand. Dams last minsrelsy was per-
| formed with Haverly u Leavitt few
years ago. His business was to give
speciments of the old time minstrels,
but the new generation guyed him un-
mercifully, and he had to give it up:
Recalling the old-timers, some OF
whom are dead, while others are wan
derers on the face of the earth, Uncle
Dan named John Smith, the original
Jim-along-Josey; John Rice, the orig
inal Jim Grow; Ed Harper, Jim Lin
ton, Dan Gardner, George Dixon and